Virile doll-play – relationships and projections

Abstract

The (female) doll occupies an important position within cultural history – it sheds light on (male) phantasies and as well on a (sometimes pathological) conflation of eroticism and power. Pygmalion’s with divine support animated statue – a speechless and submissive beauty – remained a source of inspiration for numerous fictional and real imitators throughout the centuries. The focus is on the relationship between artist and doll and thus, it examines the doll as a muse, as a perfect projection surface that mirrors and reflects the artist and his work. These considerations are followed up on the basis of various examples, including both biographical aspects and literary presentations of ‘doll love’.